Improving accuracy of EWT

• Standard Interview

  • EWT is inaccurate, numerous studies have shown factors such as anxiety, leading questions and post-event discussion decrease the accuracy of EWT.
  • Fisher Studied techniques used by police and found that they lead to inaccuracy.
  • Leading to the development of the Cognitive Interview
• Cognitive Interview

  • A range of techniques that Fisher and Gieslmean suggested police interviewers can use to improve the accuracy of EWT
• Fisher (1987)

  • The following factors were identified as needing an improvement in the standard interview.

  1. Witnesses were given a large number of quick, direct and closed questions.
  2. The order of questions were not asked in a way that matched witnesses mental representation
  3. Witnesses were not able to talk freely about their experience, were frequently interrupted.
• features of the Cognitive interview

  • Context reinstatement.
  • Report Everything
  • Recall from a Changed Perspective
  • Recall in Reverse order
• Context reinstatement

  • Based on cue dependant forgetting
  • Mentally returning to the scene of the crime.
  • Includes physical environment and emotional state.
• Report Everything

  • All details, even if they seem irrelevant should be mentioned as this triggers memories.
• Recall from a Changed Perspective.

  • Mentally recreate how the crime would be recalled from a different perspective of a witness.
  • Gives a holistic view of the event, minimising bias.
• Recall in Reverse Order

  • Recall is switched to different timelines.
  • Eg. end to beginning, or middle to start.
  • Challenges schema.
• Enhanced Cognitive Interview

  • Focused on making the interviewee comfortable by...

  1. Interviewer not distracting witness
  2. Witness controlling flow of info.
  3. Open-ended questions.
  4. Reminded not to guess and use, the "don't know" option.
  5. Reduce anxiety in witnesses and give them time to relax.
• Research support. - Fisher, Geilsman and Amador.

  • A field study to compare 7 detectives trained in Cognitive interview compared with 9 using standard interviews.
  • Found CI trained detectives received 47% more info after their training and 63% more info than untrained detectives.
  • Suggests the cognitive interview is effective.